Rotor brake



Feb. 10, 1959 w. RL PoLANlN ROTOR BRAKE 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Feb. 13, 1956 INVENTOR. M@ anw/ BYWa/1 l 5% W. R. POLANIN Feb. lO, 1959 ROTOR BRAKE 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Feb. l5', 1956 IN VEN TOR. M Zaz/ Hlllllllllllllllll Wma f 2,873,004 Patentes Feb. :10, 19519 ROTOR BRAKE y Walter R. Polauin, Chicago, Ill., assigner to hericn Steel Foundries, Chicago, Ill., a corporation of-'lNe'w Jersey Appncaaon February 1s, 1956, serial N0.s64,"99`s 1 claim. (clfissssv) This invention relates to brake equipment for-railway car trucks and more particularly to an off-wheel brake arrangement in which stator means are provided omthe truck frame to frictionally engageand deceleratedisk type rotors provided on'and rotatable with wheel yand axle assemblies.

The offwheel brake arrangement is particularly adapted for use on conventional four-wheel, light-weight, high speed passenger car trucks comprising a one-piece truck frame resiliently supported lon equalizers which, 4in turn, are'supported at their ends on journal boxes provided `for the wheel and axle assemblies. The truck frame is shownas comprising side rails interconnected by end rails and spaced transoms located adjacent their respective wheel and axle assemblies to support one or more stator units each vprovided with brake shoes to fricti'onally engage opposite sides of its respective rotor. As thetruck frame is resiliently supported on springs provided fon the equalizers, itis tilt-able relative tothe wheel `and axle assemblies. -To prevent stressing or breakage Vof parts of the brake arrangement during such tilting movement of the truck frame and also to insure at all times a full flush face engagement of. `the brake shoes with the rotor, it is an object of the invention `to provide `a brake arrangement in which the stator assembly is supported on thetruck frame `for pivotal movement transversely of the truck.

Another object ofthe i'rn/entirm` resides in the provision of a rotor brake arrangement in'which the stator assembly is pivotally suspended from a mounting bracket integral with or secured to the transom "of the truck frame.

'A further object ofthe invention 'resides in the provision of resilient means interposed between the mounting bracket vand thestator -assemblyto'yieldably resist relative pivotal movement therebetween, said resilient-'means serving to return the stator assembly from a tilted'psition to its normal position below the mounting bracket upon disengagement of the brake shoes with the rotor. Another object of the invention resides in the provision of an oil-wheel brake arrangement in'which means are provided for adjusting the position of the stator assembly,

. hereinafter set forth in the specification and claim and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure l is a top plan view illustrating a railway car truck provided with a rotor brake arrangement embodying features of the invention, only one quarter of the m25 to axles 13.

ltruck being shown as it is symmetrical about its longit 'l inal Vand Vtransvese center lines;

" fl'lgureuZ is a side elevational view ofsame;

Figure 3fis`an 'end elevational view of same, the outer l"eridsoi the 4brake lever-vs and their respective brake headshoe assemblies being omittedfto more clearly illustrate tln=. invention;

Figure 4isja`fragriientary side elevational view, corre- `strating a modiiied form `of the invention; 'and y "`Figi1re"5 Vis, a `fragrnentary end elevational View of 'Sama ,'Referringfnow to `the drawings for a better understanding of 'the invention and more particularly to Fig- Iur`e`s fl to` 3, therein, 'the oi-wheelbrake arrangement is ,shown as applied "-to a four-wheel railway car truck 'embodying a one-piece truck frame 6 having side rails V2:--2interconnected by-end rails 3-3 and transoms 4 4.

The frame is Vresilientl'y supportedby springs 7 lseated fon equalizersSg-S which are mounted at their ends upon conventional journal boxes (not shown). The journal boxes 'arefe'ngaged between spaced pedestal jaws 9 9 to rtatablyreceive wheel and axle assemblies 11 which are shown' as Icomprising hanged wheels 12-12 secured Rotor disks 14 are secured to the axles and/'or whe'el'sto rotate therewith and are provided at opposite Isi'desthreof with parallel radial surfaces 16 `,to be vfrictina-lly engaged Vby stator means to decelerate 'th'e assemblies 11. l

y"I'h'astatcr means is shown as comprising a cylinder 18 having opposed :pistons 19-19 therein to'engage the inner ends of their' respective brake levers 21-21. Up-

"perfandilower Abrake lever support plates ,22 and 23 are fwelded'to or formed integral with the cylinder f18 and Lare Vformed with vertically aligned pairs of `apertures to `receive pivot bolts 24-24 which extend through bearing apertures provided -in the brake=levers. VIf desired, reinforcing gussets 12d-26 may be provided `between the kplatesfZZ and 23` ythe cylinder 18. A pivotbearing b'oss`2l7 is'for'med-integral with or welded to the `upper Ifplate 22" and cylinder '18 andformed with a bore having a hori'znt'al'axis normal to the common vertical plane of the 'bolts 251-4214. stator support bracket, indicated fg'enerally at 28,'is`sfhofwnfa's comprising a vertical base 2,9

.45 lboitedj'totheside ofthe transom facing its adjacent'wheel and"`xle"a`ss'e'mbly '11, the lower'end of `the -basehaving a bearing25 to receiveone end of a pivot bolt 31.

A bearing Aarm 32 extends outwardly and downwardly `vfromy lth'efibase 29 and is provided at its lower end with 'abe'aring 30 to lreceive the other end of the bolt 31.

The bearing boss 27 is journaled on the bolt 31 between the base 29 and arm 32 for pivotal movement transversely of the truck responsive to lateral tilting of the truck frame relative to the axis of the wheel and axle assembly.

An abutment wall 33 is provided on the bracket 28 between the base 29 and the arm 32 to be straddled by spaced lugs 34-34 projecting'upwardly from the bearing boss 27. To yieldably resist pivotal movement of the boss 27 relative to the bracket 28, resilient rubber pads 36-36 or the like are provided between each lug 34 and the wall 33, the pads being bonded to their respective lugs and/ or to the wall, as desired.

Brake head-shoe assemblies, indicated generally at 37, are provided on the outer ends of the brake levers 21- 2i, each assembly being shown as comprising a brake head 3S and a brake shoe 39. Each brake head is provided with spaced apertured lugs 41-41 to straddle the outer end of its respective brake lever and to be pivotally connected thereto by a pivot element 42, one of said lugs being frictionally engaged against the lever by means of a compression spring 43 mounted on the pivot element.

, 3 Each brake shoe 39 is bonded or otherwise secured t0 its respective brake head and is of generally crescent shape to insure full face engagement with its lrespective friction surface 16 during vertical movement of the shoes relative to the rotor. 4

To yieldably resist pivotalI movement of the brake levers and outward movement of thepistons 19-19 relative to the cylinder 18, the inner ends of the levers are interconnected by a tension spring 44. The spring 44 is formed with loop ends disposed in slots formed in the levers and secured thereto by bolts 47.

In the operation of the brake arrangement thus shown and described, pressure uid from any suitable source is directed through a conduit 48 to the interior of the cylinder 18 between the opposed pistons 19-19'which then act to pivot their respective brake levers v21--21 to engage the brake shoes 39-39 against their respective'friction surfaces 16--16 on the'rotor disk 14 to decelerate the wheel and axle assembly 11. Responsive to a drop in pressure of the fluid in the cylinder, the tension spring 44 acts to return the brake levers and pistons to their normal inoperative positions.

As the truck frame 6 is resiliently supported on the wheel and axle assemblies 11, it is subject to tilting or lateral rocking motion relative to a horizontal plane through the axes of the wheel and axle assemblies when the truck is in service. To provide full face engagement between the brake shoes and their respective rotor surfaces when the frame is tilted laterally, the stator means 17 is suspended for pivotal movement transversely of theframe by means of the support bracket 28 and the pivot bolt 31. The resilient elements 36-36 are provided to yieldably resist pivotal movement of the stator means relative to the truck frame to normally maintain the brake levers in a common plane parallel to the axis of its respective wheel and axle assembly.

To adjust the position of the brake shoes radially of the rotor disk, spacing collars 49 or shims are provided on the pivot bolt 31 between the ends of the bearing boss 27 and the axially spaced bearings 2S and 30 provided on the support bracket 28.

Figures 4 and 5 in the drawings illustrate a modified form of the invention in which the stator means is provided with a pivot bearing boss 51 journaled on bolt 52 which extends horizontally longitudinally of the truck frame and is mounted at its ends in spaced bearings 53 and 54 provided on a support bracket 56 and transverse member 57, respectively. The bracket S6 is adapted to be 'bolted or otherwise secured to the transom 4, while the transverse member 57 is welded -or otherwise secured at its ends to the slide rails 2 2.

A vertically disposed abutment wall 58 is provided on the cylinder 18 to be straddled by spaced lugs 59--59 provided on the bearing 53. Resilient rubber pads 61 are provided on opposite sides of the labutment wall for engagement by their respective lugs 59 to yieldably resist pivotal movement of the stator means relative to the truck frame, the pads being bonded to the abutment wall and/or to their respective lugs. This form of the invention is otherwise similar in construction and operation to the form heretofore described with reference to Figures l to 3 in the drawings.

While the invention has been shown in but two forms, it is obvious to those skilled in the art that it is not so limited but is susceptible of various changes and modications without departing from the spirit of the inven tion or the scope of the claim.

I claim:

In a brake arrangement for a railway car truck having a truck frame, a supporting wheel and axle assembly, and oppositely facing rotatable brake surfaces on said assembly; the combination of: a brake unit comprising a brake frame, spaced bearings on one of the frames, another bearing on the other frame received between said spaced bearings, a pair of mutually facing abutment surfaces carried by one of the frames at opposite sides of a vertical plane approximately perpendicular to the rotational axis of said assembly and bisecting said bearings, said brake frame comprising a cylinder having top and bottom webs attached thereto and extending toward the assembly, said unit comprising brake levers between said webs and fulcrumed thereto, said unit comprising brake shoes actuated by said levers into engagement with respective surfaces, another pair of abutment surfaces on the other frame between and facing respective of said first-mentioned abutment surfaces, resilient pads between said first-mentioned abutment surfaces having faces compressed thereagainst and against said second-mentioned abutment surfaces, readily removable means extending through and pivotally interconnecting said bearings, and spacer means on said removable means between said other bearing and at least one of the first-mentioned bearings for adjustably determining the distance between said shoes and said axis, one pair of said abutment surfaces being movable with the brake frame toward and away from said axis when said spacer means are removed, at least one pair of said abutment surfaces and the engaged pad faces being substantially vertical and being slidably interengaged.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,779,776 l Masion Oct. 28. 1930 2,274,859 Eksergian Mar. 3, 1942 2,377,190 Tack May 29, '1945 2,410,574 Eksergian Nov. 5, 1946 2,531,358 Helsten Nov. 21, 2,760,601 Gaenssle Aug. 28, 1956 

